We headed out for Texarkana. It was pretty uneventful until we got into town. We were in the middle of road construction and lots of traffic when it happened. An 18 wheeler passes us and a big "THWAK" and a piece of something (our rig) is flapping up by the driver's side window. We pull over and the front quarter panel had pulled loose. I am not sure if it was rough road or a piece of tire but something broke the arm that holds it in place loose and the side of the panel is just glued down. I tried to clamp it together but the clamp fell off shortly after we started off. We got off the highway and pulled in to a truck place. I was able to reattach the bracket and then put a screw in the plastic where it was glued. It is handy to have all your tools with you. It is all good now but man it scared us both. Catherine did great and kept the rig straight and steady through it all.
We got to the lake but took a wrong turn and had to back track. We finally got pulled in to a nice shady spot with a view of the lake. The Sat dish is locked on and the AC is humming with 50Amps of juice. We will be here two nights. Whew.......
Early on in our travels, we had problems with the valve core (the little doohickey in the center of the valve stem that you push on to let air in or out) on several of our tires. If that little stem doesn't seat properly after you check the air, air will slowly escape until you have a flat.
ReplyDeleteIt is an easy fix, either tighten the little stem or replace it if it won't tighten. There is a special tool for tightening this, and you can get the tool, as well as replacement stems, at the auto parts store (and ask them how to use it). For us, and for other folks we know, the problem is due to synthetic "sand" that is used inside the tire to balance it - then a little bit of it gets into the valve core when you check the air, so it can't close fully.
BTW, if you are going to remove and replace one of those stems, be sure you let plenty of air out first and don't crouch down right in front of it. That sucker comes out with some SPEED; first time I did it, it felt like a bullet passed me by! DUH!
This probably wasn't your problem, but thought I'd mention it for future problems. :) Sorry to hear about all your problems today. A day on the road can be trying, can't it?
Safe travels!
Thanks for the tip Laurie. That is exactly what was wrong. I will get some extra cores and the tool.
ReplyDeleteWhat a day! Glad it all turned out ok. Now you can relax :)
ReplyDeleteWow - you really did have a day! You handled it well. Glad you made it safe and sound!
ReplyDeleteOne of the things I'm not impressed with that Winnebago does is glue some of the panels together. I've had to reglue both my front hood and my rear engine hatch. I have one part of the rear cap that I've reglued several times but it keeps coming loose.
ReplyDeleteI think it was very smart that you put a screw in your panel, I think I need to to that. And it is nice to have tools with you, I carry more tools than food...